Investors

The debt-ridden Joliet JackHammers baseball team needs a cash infusion from new investors or a new owner in order to stay afloat, the team president said Wednesday. "There's nothing off the table at this point," said Peter Ferro, a lifelong Joliet resident, who owns the JackHammers along with six other shareholders. "I promise I will do everything I can to rectify this. " Read more on TribLocal .

Federal prosecutors today said a west suburban investment salesman and his business partner bilked investors out of more than $5 million in a venture that authorities said was little more than a Ponzi scheme. A grand jury this week indicted Roderick Rieman, 66, of Geneva and Michael Crook, 52, of Los Angeles, each on 10 counts of mail fraud in connection with the men's joint business ventures: Z Touch Systems Inc., Global Payment Solutions Inc., Bluko Information Inc. and Smart Restaurant...

A Prospect Heights businessman today admitted to bilking investors out of more than $31 million in a Ponzi scheme that survived for more than 20 years. Frank Castaldi, 56, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count each of mail fraud and impeding the Internal Revenue Service. Castaldi was charged in January with running a scheme to bilk investors out of tens of millions of dollars since 1986. Authorities have said Castaldi promised gains of up to 15 percent on...

An Aurora man was arrested and charged today with duping a number of people out of $228,000 to fund his gambling habit by claiming they were investing in the purchase of 7-Eleven stores, officials said. Maheskumar Desai, 51, was charged with felony theft, according to a release issued by Cook County State's Atty. Anita Alvarez. He is charged with using the money on personal expenses and to gamble and had amassed $1 million in gambling losses, prosecutors said. ...

The investors in Sun-Times Media Holdings, parent of the Chicago Sun-Times and other area daily and weekly newspapers and their websites, elected Jeremy Halbreich successor to the late James Tyree as chairman, it was announced today. Halbreich, who will continue to serve as chief executive officer, had been vice chairman. Earlier Wednesday, in a bid to leverage the reach of its suburban papers with advertisers, Sun-Times Media unveiled plans for sweeping its area papers under the...

Investors say Kenneth Dachman's pitch sounded promising -- he was starting up a business that would test for sleep disorders in the comfort of patients' homes, a cheaper and more comfortable alternative to hospitals. Dick Horneck, 70, invested $70,000, a substantial chunk of his retirement savings. Lea Archer, 69, gave Dachman her entire nest egg, about $250,000. In all, about 70 people said they invested nearly $3 million total in Dachman's company. ...

Investors say Kenneth Dachman's pitch sounded promising -- he was starting up a business that would test for sleep disorders in the comfort of patients' homes, a cheaper and more comfortable alternative to hospitals. Dick Horneck, 70, invested $70,000, a substantial chunk of his retirement savings. Lea Archer, 69, gave Dachman her entire nest egg, about $250,000. In all, about 70 people said they invested nearly $3 million total in Dachman's company. But in recent...

A north suburban man was sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison today for cheating victims out of more than $3.3 million they invested in purported business opportunities with an investment banking firm that he owned and operated, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Fifty-one-year-old Steven Green, of Winnetka, pleaded guilty last December to wire fraud and making fraudulent representations to investors, and using the money he obtained from investors to pay for...

In another astounding day on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials soared nearly 900 points as investors scooped up stocks that were pounded lower in recent sessions. Analysts said some investors were buying in anticipation that the Federal Reserve will cut its fed funds rate by half a point to 1 percent on Wednesday. Others said the market had just fallen too far, with the Dow having dropped more than 500 points, the previous two trading days.

A northwest suburban businessman who authorities say promised hundred of investors between 10 percent and 15 percent annual interest rates on promissory notes he sold them was charged today with operating a Ponzi scheme for more than 20 years, resulting in losses estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, the U.S. attorney's office said. Frank A. Castaldi, 55, of Prospect Heights, was charged with mail fraud in a federal criminal complaint, according to a news release. He was expected...

A Libertyville real estate developer has been indicted on federal charges of swindling investors of more than $8 million. Forrest David Laidley, 65, was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with allegedly selling limited partnership interests and short-term high-interest promissory notes to investors and financial institutions, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Some of the charges involved a Ponzi scheme in which old investors were paid off with money...

Mayor Richard Daley returned from his trip to Asia convinced foreign investors might put up the money to pay for fast, high-end rail service from O'Hare International Airport to downtown. "I think they are very interested -- China, Korea, Japan, the Middle East -- yes," Daley said today when asked if business people he met in China and South Korea might fund the effort. "There are many, many interests. You have to have a high-speed train from the international airport...

The debt-ridden Joliet JackHammers baseball team needs a cash infusion from new investors or a new owner in order to stay afloat, the team president said Wednesday. "There's nothing off the table at this point," said Peter Ferro, a lifelong Joliet resident, who owns the JackHammers along with six other shareholders. "I promise I will do everything I can to rectify this. " Read more on TribLocal .

Mayor Richard Daley heads to China and South Korea today looking for investment money he says Chicago desperately needs. The mayor today said he hopes to convince Chinese investors to put money into infrastructure improvements in Chicago during his week-long trip. Read more on Clout Street .

An Aurora man was arrested and charged today with duping a number of people out of $228,000 to fund his gambling habit by claiming they were investing in the purchase of 7-Eleven stores, officials said. Maheskumar Desai, 51, was charged with felony theft, according to a release issued by Cook County State's Atty. Anita Alvarez. He is charged with using the money on personal expenses and to gamble and had amassed $1 million in gambling losses, prosecutors said. ...

A north suburban man was sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison today for cheating victims out of more than $3.3 million they invested in purported business opportunities with an investment banking firm that he owned and operated, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Fifty-one-year-old Steven Green, of Winnetka, pleaded guilty last December to wire fraud and making fraudulent representations to investors, and using the money he obtained from investors to pay for...

A suburban Chicago couple has filed a class-action suit against a businessman and Web site promoter accused in a $12 million Ponzi scheme. Fred and Linda Samp of Deer Park are suing David Hernandez on behalf of investors who lost money in the scheme. The suit also names all of his companies and several business associates. The Samps' attorney, Mark Belongia, says investors could recover millions of dollars for their initial investments, damages and fees. Hernandez has pleaded...

A far north suburban man has been charged with defrauding more than two dozen investors of about $3.7 million in a Ponzi scheme, federal officials said today. Joseph A. Dawson, 48, of Fox Lake, is accused of misappropriating more than $1 million of his investors' funds for his own benefit, using the proceeds on his home, construction of a swimming pool, landscaping and three automobiles, the government said. According to charges filed Monday by the U.S. attorney's office, Dawson was...

For four years, John Orecchio spent part of his life as a well-respected banker, husband and devoted father of three young children living in a two-story house with white pillars on a tree-lined Arlington Heights street. The rest of the time, court records show, he posed as a high-rolling millionaire who drove a Bentley, collected thoroughbred racehorses and traveled on private jets to Las Vegas and tropical islands with his young fiancee, a former dancer whom he met during frequent visits to...